Dalhousie Castle

Dalhousie Castle is a castle in Midlothian, Scotland. It is located near the town of Bonnyrigg, 13 kilometers south of Edinburgh. Until the early 20th century it served as the headquarters of the Earl of Dalhousie family.

History

Acquired early in 1140 Simundus de Ramseia, a French nobleman, the country in the current area of ​​the castle. In 1280, built one of his descendants the first dungeon. The oldest buildings that exist today were built in 1450. To build such as the Drum Tower, used to stones from the Esk, a river on whose banks stands the castle. Access was obtained earlier only via a drawbridge over the moat, which was, however, filled the early 20th century. Approximately 1635 was William Ramsay, 1st Earl of Dalhousie build a curtain wall. Under George Ramsay, 8th Earl of Dalhousie, the castle was transformed into a considerable extent. This modernization was, however, already, 9th Earl of Dalhousie, scaled back by the son of the eighth Earl, George Ramsay with the help of architect William Burn and the original state restored in the style of Scottish Baronials mostly. At the beginning of the 20th century, the family of the Earl of Dalhousie relocated the headquarters after Brechin Castle. From this point Dalhousie Castle was leased several times. Among other things, it was home to a boarding school. Since 1972 it is used as a hotel. On 26 June 2004 broke out in the hotel from a fire that caused significant damage. In April 2011, Andrew Parker and his wife Gina bought the hotel for an unspecified sum.